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Clients &
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Gozo with Ager
: "Highly Recommended"
-
Maria & Alfred Sant Fournier,
Malta
Over the Easter period we spent a
week in Gozo and as usual it was a
very relaxing, enjoyable time for
all the family. The highlight of our
stay was definitely the day spent on
the farm with Marianna and Żeppi ta’
Kurun.
We
arrived in Xewkija at 9.00am, met
Miriam Galea of Ager Foundation and
were taken to Żeppi’s family where
we were immediately made to feel
very welcome and greeted with a
lovely smell of freshly cooked
aromatic coffee and home-made
biscuits.
The
day was packed with enjoyment and
learning experiences for all the
family. We fed the hens, rabbits,
sheep and goats and gave them water
and swept the yard where the animals
spend most of their time. Our
children, Christina and Andrew,
enjoyed collecting the freshly laid
eggs and playing with all the
animals including the family’s two
dogs.
Milking the goats and shearing the
sheep was a fantastic experience. We
all tried our hand at both and I
must say the animals were ever so
patient. Milking goats is not as
easy as it looks!
Marianna explained to us how to make
cheeselets or ‘ġbejniet’ and gave us
one to eat. How good it was! I can
still taste the delicacy of the
fresh, genuine, pure cheese.
It
was a first class biology lesson
with hands on learning. The children
were so intrigued and engrossed in
all they did. They asked lots of
questions and both Żeppi and
Marianna patiently answered their
queries with lots of wisdom and
expertise.
The
children could hear and appreciate
the Maltese dialect and learnt the
actual names of certain equipment
used, such as the ‘ġelem’ or
scissors used to shear sheep.
We
all had a taste of the tough life
the farmers lead, especially in the
past when they did not have the
machinery and modern equipment of
today.
Marianna’s meal was very delicious
and plentiful. It was a lovely time
to get to know each other and become
friends, chatting away while sipping
a glass of Żeppi’s home made wine.
After the sumptuous meal we went to
the field to cut some wheat using a
sickle -‘minġel’ which Marianna then
expertly tied in a bundle. We then
collected some beans ‘mżiewet’ or
‘ful’ as we know them in Malta.
The
day ended with another lovely cup of
coffee and more delightful
conversation with Marianna, Żeppi
and their children Teresa and
Giovanna.
Well done Ager Foundation this is a
very good idea indeed. Many thanks
for giving us the opportunity to
enjoy such a fulfilling and
enriching day.
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Wedding
Anniversary in Gozo with Ager -
Collen and
Josephine Isherwood, Zejtun - Malta
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I would
like to take this opportunity to advise
readers about a wonderful organisation in
Gozo called the Ager Foundation.
As it was
our wedding anniversary, our children
decided we should do something different
this time, so they contacted Victor Galea at
the foundation (who was most helpful and
informative) as we had read about this
particular organisation in The Times, and it
seems that it has something for everyone.
We
chose the farming theme, and got to spend
the day at a farm in Xewkija, with Zeppi and
his wonderful wife Marie Anna.
To say we
enjoyed it does not describe what a truly
wonderful experience we all had, from Nanna
and Nannu right through to all our
grandsons. The children loved helping with
the goats and the sheep, and handling the
young animals, and collecting eggs, and each
time Zeppi was there to explain about the
various animals.
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Fun
time really came when everyone had a
go at milking the sheep (still don't
know if the sheep have recovered)
and then we actually made the milk
from the milking into cheese, and
the meal at the end was equal to or
in this case better than a five-star
restaurant.
And
then we all washed it down with
home-made Gozo wine, a truly fitting
end to a really outstanding and
adventurous wedding anniversary.
Needless to say, we shall be back to
sample another theme, maybe we shall
all try our hand at the fishing, or
wine-making, or one of the many
other themes on offer.
Once again we would like to thank
our children and grandchildren, Mr
Galea, Zeppi and his wife Marie
Anna, for making our special day
extra special.
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Ager
Foundation promoted by BBC
'Agro-tourism' |
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Some locals
in Gozo have joined together to make sure
their island continues to be a unique
destination to travel to by promoting it as
a destination that specialises in agro and
eco tourism. The Ager Foundation was
established in late 2005.
www.agerfoundation.com
Zeppi Ta'
Kurun, is one of the Gozitan farmers who has
joined up with the Ager Foundation, an
organisation that invites tourists to spend
the day with local farmers, learning the
traditional ways of making cheese and
milking and shearing sheep.
Mr Zeppi, Ta' Kurun
said: "When the tourists are here, they like
everything, because they see I milk with my
hands not with the machine. They try to milk
the sheep, they try to cut the grass for the
sheep."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6503371.stm
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A unique
learning experience -
Valerie Grimes, UK
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On
my last birthday, I was presented
with a most unusual gift: a visit to
a sheep farm in Xewkija, Gozo, with
the assurance of a singular
experience. Organised by The Ager
Foundation, www.agerfoundation.com,
my day trip far exceeded all
expectations.
That animal husbandry holds
universal appeal was borne out when
I was joined by two Maltese couples
and their children.
First we were given a warm hearty
welcome, ample coffee and cake,
typifying the quite exceptional
hospitality from our hosts the
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The day
consisted of practical tasks with the
livestock: we brushed out the feeding
troughs and tipped in buckets of feed while
the lambs gambolled and climbed round about.
We learned
to instantly distinguish sheep from goats:
the former are adorned with tails that hang
down, whereas those of goats are upturned!
"We're
going to feed the chickens now." The
youngest boy corrected me: "We call them
hens!" We then got down to the serious
business of milking the sheep. The amazed
expression on the face of our selected ewe
at our initial futile efforts changed to
resignation as each and every one of us
produced mere squirts of the liquid. The
shepherd expected us to direct it into a
receptacle, but his wife just giggled, as
these novice milkers deposited it everywhere
but. She then took over and soon had a
brimming pail, which after sieving, was made
into cheese by adding rennet - an enzyme
that is naturally produced from the lining
of lambs' stomachs.
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A truly
substantial nutritious home-made lunch was
served to pass the time until the curds and
whey had separated. Then the children filled
the slatted beakers, which allowed the
liquid to drain away. We talked about
muslin, the material used in Britain for
cheese-making which was the precursor to
cheesecloth.
 Then
it was off to work to clip wool from the
back of another patient sheep. Operating the
hand shears requires the use of a strong
thumb, but the two young boys manfully
completed the task.
We were
treated to yet more refreshments before
saying goodbye to our hosts after an
extraordinary day which had deepened our
understanding and appreciation of rural
life.
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Having
visited the Maltese Islands for 13 years, I
have no doubt that hands-on eco and
agro-tourism of this innovative intriguing
kind is bound to enhance and enrich the "Gozo
experience" of visitors, domestic and
foreign alike.
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Greeting Gozitan
Sheep...it's a Heritage Trip!
-
Barbara Bode,
USA
The sophisticated Maltese
grandmother eyed the back end of the sheep
with a knowing look, crouched down and
grabbed the udder. Left squirt, right
squirt, rhythmically she pulled the milk
into the pail. Her 6-year-old grandson
squatted down beside her and she directed a
squirt toward him.
It seemed so
easy but the farmer was impressed. He knew
how rarely visitors have any idea how to
milk. Clearly, she'd assumed this position
before. And indeed, she had. As a child in
Valletta, her uncle next door kept a goat on
the roof of his townhouse where she learned.
As for the
rest of the Maltese visitors to the sheep
farm this day in Gharb on Gozo, barely a
trickle of milk was produced. Two mothers,
Alison Carslake and Catherine Vigar, their
young sons Benjamin, age 6, and Miguel, age
8, and Grandmother Tania Carslake had come
to Gozo to spend a day on a working farm, a
new project of the Ager Foundation.
The
nonprofit, nongovernmental Ager Foundation
has launched The Gozo Experience, an
eco-tourism/agro-tourism project to protect
the functioning farms of Gozo and promote
the value of safeguarding the environment by
introducing urban visitors to local life.
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In
this instance, folks spend a day
engaged in the routines of real life
farm families.
We had
woken up at 6.30 in the morning to
arrive at Mgarr Harbor before 9am.
Later, we learned that the farmer
arises daily at 4.30am he had
already been working for a good four
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Prior to
meeting his animals, a little stoop labor
was on the agenda, a trip to the fields to
pick broad beans. This was serious picking.
The farmer's wife had orders for beans to
fill. Sure, the volunteer helpers could keep
some of the beans they picked - they took
two big bags home with them - but they left
twice as many behind for her customers.
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In fact, they
would have picked many more. The farm family
was leery of exploiting them. But not to
worry, for them it was educational and fun.
Not only did they learn about Sansuna, the
legendary Gozitan giantess who ate broad
beans for strength to carry on her head the
massive boulders to build the Ggantija
Temple, they learned how to pick beans. They
learned you have to pull the beans down to
get them cleanly off the stalks and how
wonderful beans fresh from the field can
taste.
Later, at
lunch, they also learned how good the beans
taste in homemade minestra, fresh vegetable
soup, here spiked with chestnuts.
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At lunch,
too, they tasted scrumptious big fat
homemade Gozitan "ravioli" stuffed with gbejniet but first they had to learn how to
make these sheep milk cheeselets. Hence, the
milking lessons.
Where does
all this milk come from?
It's the
product of a matriarchal society. Keeping
females in a constant state of procreation
produces the high fat milk that ends up as
gbejniet. After about a year, female sheep
start getting pregnant, producing milk and
lambs every year for about 10 years
thereafter. Two months into their annual
pregnancy, the farmer stops milking them for
three months. After that, it's back to
pulling and squeezing. Besides, a sheep can
give birth to as many as four lambs at a
time so there are a lot of seekers after her
milk.
If those
newborn lambs are male, they're doomed to
become baby lamb chops. Males are not
productive on a sheep milking farm. Only one
senior stud is needed on this small one.
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Each day the
farmer's wife and her daughter make nearly
100 cheeselets out of the milk of 20 sheep.
Adding a rennet powder to the pail of milk
makes it set. A couple of hours later,
Grandmother slashes through it to separate
the curds from the whey. Once that's
finished, the curds are dipped out into
"qwieleb", cheeselet forms. In the olden times
they used straw baskets, now they use
plastic ones.
After a while
the handfuls of cheese are tossed out by
hand, upside down and back into the forms,
right to left, and set to sit and drain. An
hour or so later, there's more right-left
action as they are tossed in sea salt, top
and bottom ... and left to set again. A day
later they are ready for sale. That's when
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The farmers'
9-year-old granddaughter and her mother
help. Earlier in the day, the little girl
showed the little boys not to be afraid of
the big sheep. Confidently, she fed them
sweet hay and vitamin enriched pellets.
In truth, the
sheep in their open stall were as
intimidated by the rambunctious boys as the
boys were by them. But neither group knew.
When the shearing began, however, and a
formerly never sheared very pregnant young
sheep bleated out to her sisters, all the
others came to help.
"Always
happens," observed the farmer. "When one
starts calling out, the others come"...this
time including a sweet little newborn who
didn't know enough to think these visitors
might be a problem.
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The sheep
farmer explained that the hot weather plus
the impending birth meant that all that wool
was just too uncomfortable for the sheep. He
had to get it off of her no matter how
nervous she was. And so with old fashioned
hand shears, he clipped away while his wife
and daughter tried to hold the sheep still.
What a wrestling match! Grandmother Carslake
got into the act. She helped hold the
mother-to-be and then stroked her head to
calm her down. And, finally, when this
surprisingly athletic process was finished,
the sheep bounded back to the stall where
she tried to figure out how she suddenly had
become so naked.
As for the
wool, yes the farmer had many bags full but
no one wants it anymore, he said. He can't
sell it because it is too expensive to clean
and comb. Only New Zealand wool is now
bought on the open market.
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On this farm,
in addition to the sheep are the sheep dogs,
of course, plus darling baby rabbits,
several hens and a rooster or two. As the
afternoon drew on, the dogs and the sheep
were antsy and ready for their afternoon
trek to the fields.
With the help
of the dogs, the shepherd rounded up the
sheep and off they went through the streets
of Gharb and down to the valley to eat fresh
grasses. By now the boys were more confident
and wanted to trot along with the sheep but
the sheep were still wary. Finally, the boys
were asked to stay back a bit so the sheep
could safely graze.
The boys
complied but the littlest sheep, the
newborn, a three-week old lamb, was having
none of this calm. She had never been
outside before and frolicked exactly the way
new lambs are supposed to enjoy the warm
sun. She leapt and cavorted and rushed
about, darting back to see if the visitors
were watching appreciatively. Of course,
they were.
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And they were
also admiring the picturesque sights: the
shepherd, the sheep, Ta' Pinu and the
lighthouse overlooking fields of golden-yellow flowers and bright red poppies framed
by the deep blue Mediterranean Sea.
Fresh air,
fresh food, fresh experiences in an old
world setting. What a wonderful way to
entertain children and urban visitors. Too
often we forget about the comforts and
challenges of the old ways of life.
Try it,
you'll like it. It's a heritage we can't
afford to lose.
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Shepherd's Delight
- Kilbride Jones, Ireland
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Shrouded in mystery, I had no
idea where I was being taken by my children
on 'Mother's Day', so I waited in joyful
anticipation at 7.a.m. on my doorstep for
their arrival. Less than two hours later, we
reached the enchanting village of Gharb in
Gozo, where our host, the indomitable Victor
Galea, chairperson of the Ager Foundation,
emerged full of his usual enthusiasm, from
his idyllic retreat in a sun-splashed
street, and introduced us to his charming
wife Miriam who gave us a true Gozitan
welcome. I did not yet know that a memorable
day on a neighbouring farm was to be my
experience.
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A very homely
Grezzja, sweet daughter Guza and avuncular
dad Karmnu stood at the entrance of their
farmhouse ready to receive us. We were
joined by two young couples from Malta and a
beautiful lady lawyer from Russia. Fortified
by steaming mugs of coffee flavoured with
tacci (cloves), we made our way to the farm
around the corner.
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Here we found
sheep, goats and rabbits and here also, we
were introduced to the art of milking -
everyone trying his hand - and treated to a
sheep-shearing session. The biggest rabbit I
have ever seen ate his dinner unperturbed by
prying eyes while a kindle of kittens worked
their way around our feet. And so to
lunch to Grezzja's cosy kitchen who, before
we sat down to table, prepared a big
container with the milk which Karmnu had
brought back and into which she put
coagulating powder for the production of
cheese which took exactly one hour to
settle.
Steaming
bowls of vegetable soup made with chestnuts
and cheese graced the table - everyone
accepting a second helping - and this was
followed by succulent timpana and ravjoli,
home-made ice-cream, wine and coffee. A
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Now
to the basement to watch the sheep
at their feeding troughs and to feel
the depth of Lanolin in their thick
coats. Back to the dairy to inspect
the now ready cheeses and to put
them into cuplets (qwieleb). All
into the back of the Land Rover for
a jaunt to scenic spots and then to
the home of the late Frenc ta' l-Gharb
the mystic and holy man of Gozo to
whom miracles have been ascribed.
Mass at the exquisite church at Ta'
Pinu at 5.00pm and then back to
Grezzja for a duic an doras (drink
for the door) as we say in Ireland
and some of her delicious home-made
cake. What a bonus it would have
been to meet His Grace the much-loved Bishop Nikol, but that will
have to wait!
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This
unforgettable day was a practical example of
what those who believe in sustainable
development can do, and a huge 'Proset' I
say for Victor Galea to come up with such
ideas! Settling our account for a very
decent sum - half-price for young Daniel -
we bid a final farewell to our gracious
hosts. Tired, sated and full of peace, we
board the boat for Melitaland and throw back
a kiss to this magical world that is Gozo:
'Some island with the sea's silence on
it...'
My family
keeps surfing the Ager Foundation's Website
www.agerfoundation.com and I am keep to
venture on another service waiting for us on
its menu!
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Gurnata ma' Karmnu r-Rahhal
-
Marvic Ellul, Attard - Malta
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II-hajja mghaggla u
l-girja sfrenata li l-bniedem ta'
dan iz-zmien qieghed jinhakem
minnhom gaghluni nfittex is-servizzi
tal-Fondazzjoni Ager ta' Ghawdex.
Ikkomunikajt ma' l-organizzaturi u
f'kemm ilni nghidlek sibt ruhi f'rahal
kwiet u mimli seher gewwa Ghawdex.
Wasalt fil-pjazza tar-rahal. L-familja
tieghi ltqajna flimkien ma' Victor
Galea mill-Fondazzjoni Ager u mxejna
flimkien fil-hemda tar-rahal sakemm
wasalna fl-isqaq ta' karmnu. Sibt
ic-cavetta fil-bieb u dik fissret
il-merhba ta' Karmnu u l-familja
tieghu. Ftahna l-bieb ta' barra u
minn wara l-antiporta tfeccet Grezz
bi tbissima helwa fuq fommha. |
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Dhalna
fil-kcina u hemm bintha Guza b'idha miftuha
offritli kikkra te bil-halib frisk bnin tan-naghag.
Wara erba' kelmiet flimkien miksurin bi ftit
skiet irhejnila lejn l-ghalqa ta' Grezz
biex b'hekk naqtghu l-imziewet mill-wicc
tar-raba. Waqt din il-hidma, Grezz tkellmet
u qasmet ftit grajjiet mill-passat tal-hajja
taghha minghajr hadd ma jwaqqafha. Id-diskursata
bi kliem semplici u b'ritmu kalm igaghlek
twaqqaf widnejk u titfa' l-attenzjoni fuq
dak li qieghed jinghad. Sadanittant Guza
kienet qieghda tikkorda l-borma tal-minestra
bnina u genwina. Guza xorta wahda inghaqdet
maghna biex naqtghu l-mizwet filwaqt li l-borma
tal-minestra baqghet ittektek fuq in-nar
fil-hemda tal-kcina. Hija wkoll qasmet
mieghi ftit mill-grajjiet tal-hajja taghha, ghalhekk
qalb Guza issa kienet mistrieha.
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Wara li
gbarna bixkilla mziewet, iltqajna ma' Karmnu
u hadna r-razzett biex nitimghu u nahilbu n-naghag.
Wahda wara l-ohra, imlejna barmil halib
frisk u hadnih fid-dwejra gewwa l-maqjel ta' Grezz u Karmnu biex "isir gobna" spjegat
Grezz. Wara ftit Grezz qaltli li dalwat "jirromba".
Dort minnu fih u staqsejtha: "Min ser
jirrumbana Grezz?" B'dahka helwa u
bil-pacenzja kollha Grezz spjegatli li
ghan-nies ta' dak ir-rahal, 'jirromba'
tfisser li jkun ser idoqq nofs-in-nhar! Dan
ifisser li nergghu lura fil-kcina u nieklu
bukkun.
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Wara ikla
genwina u bnina, Karmnu hadni ghal mixja
fil-wied. Flimkien mal-familja ta' Karmnu,
inghaqdet maghna l-merhla naghag u l-erbat
iklieb imgizza ta' Grezz. X'hemda u skiet
jahkmu f'dan il-wied. Tisma' biss l-ghasafar
jghannu u xi mutur tal-hart fil-boghod. Il-pepprin
ahmar u l-lellux isfar jinsabu fin-nofs ta' tapiti hodor u kannella. Fil-boghod u mill-oghli
jitfghu harsithom l-gholjiet weqfin ta'
madwar. Dan kollu kien imzejjen biz-ziffa
helwa li bdiet twassal kant sabih u daqq
tal-qniepen minn gol-kappella tal-boghod.
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Filwaqt li
Grezz striehet fuq il-blat wieqaf, xtaqet li
tghanni l-ghanja taghha ta' tfulitha, Karmnu
jinsab trankwil mixhut ghal tulu fuq
il-haxix ghall-hemda tal-wied jara li hadd
ma naqas mill-merhla tieghu. Grezz u Guza
xtaqu li jmorru lura d-dar filwaqt li
hallejna l-Karmnu igawdi ghalih s-skiet
perfett tal-wied.
Fi ftit hin
sibna lilna nfusna fis-skiet tar-rahal gewwa
d-dwejra ta' Grezz u Karmnu. Guza biex
tkompli sserrah 'l ommha mit-tahbit, xeghlet
il-kitla tal-mishun. Servitielna kikkra te u
bicca hlewwa li l-idejn hawtiela ta' Guza
lestew ghal din il-gurnata.
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Wasal
il-mument li jien nerga lura fil-hajja
mghaggla u sfrenata. Wara tghanniqa ma' haddejn Grezz, weghdna lil xulxin li ma
ninsewx din il-gurnata u nibqghu niftakru
f'xulxin!
Nirrakkomanda
dawn l-esperjenzi offruti mill-Fondazzjoni
Ager lil kull min jixtieq jesperjenza l-hajja
ta' veru u trankwilla ta' nies b'qalb kbira.
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A day at Zeppu ta'
Kurun's farm
- George Cini,
Malta
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Recently
I spent an exhilirating day in Xewkija
getting a taste of one of the
agritourism days being organised by
the Ager Foundation of Gozo. Here's
a short chronicle of how that day
went.
My
son Daniel, eight, had been counting
the hours on Friday, itching for the
dawn to break, the day before we
went to spend a day on the farm
belonging to Zeppu ta' Kurun in Gozo.
True
to form, Daniel woke up at five
squeezing his eyes and looking a bit
groggy, saying (through a couple of
yawns), "Pa, are you ready?"
By
6.15 we were out of the house and on
our way to Gozo. We had promised
Victor Galea, from the Ager
Foundation, the man behind this
agritourism scheme, to be at the
main square in Xewkija by 9.
Zeppu
ta' Kurun is one of the farmers who
has been hand-picked by the Ager
Foundation. The foundation has put
together a list of days that one can
spend in Gozo taking part in
traditional crafts. These include
gastronomy, fishing, honey picking
and festa time to mention just a
few.
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When we
arrived at Xewkija, we were met by Zeppu and
by his wife Mananni. What impressed me most
throughout the day, was that both man and
wife share the chores around the farm,
feeding, milking and tending to other tasks
not to mention the making of "gbejniet" -
small round cheeses which the Gozitans call
"gubon", for cheese as soon as the sheep are
milked.
Zeppu and
Mananni go about their day like clockwork.
Each chore is tied to a particular time and
takes so long to do and they make sure that
they fit the pattern.
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Daniel and my
wife Irene went about their tasks with
aplomb, particularly Irene who tried her
hand at milking one of the sheep and
shearing another.
The milking
business was a baptism of patience for me
because, much as I pretended that the
backside of the sheep I was sitting up
against was Botticelli's Venus, I only
managed to milk only a few squirts!
But it was
terrific fun. We then went to feed the
chickens, pick the freshly laid eggs and
feed the rabbits with Daniel handling one of
the bunnies which was no bigger than a
mobile phone.
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I forgot to
tell you about the freshly brewed pot of
coffee laced with cloves we were welcomed
with and, with Zeppu on hand to see to our
whims, we soon got a big glass of milk which
one of the sheep had just produced!
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After Mananni
got the "gbejniet" ready, it was time for
lunch and we were served a "gbejna" each with
salad followed by "imqarrun il-forn" (baked
macaroni) which Mananni cooked at one of the
two bakeries in Xewkija. For afters we were
offered "gbejniet tal-bzar" (pepper cheeses),
peanuts and fresh fruit.
In the
afternoon we went for a short drive to Mgarr
ix-Xini and after that it was back to one of
Zeppu's fields to pick hay with a sickle and
tie it up into bundles - a task that Irene
passed with flying colours.
Zeppu told us
that one bundle is called "qatta" and eight of
these bundles make a "hemel".
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After filling
up Zeppu's truck with hay, Daniel, myself
and the two dogs, Sleeve and Dee, sat among
the hay at the back and we were driven back
to the farm where we sat down for coffee.
"What a great
fun day, this has been!" said Daniel, who
slept soundly most of the way home.
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Getting Into The Gozo
Groove
- Dr Claire Bonello
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Swishing your hands
through a warm bucketful of
just-curdled sheep's milk and
slotting up enough of the creamy
gloop to make "gbejniet" or
cheeselets, is a wonderfully
relaxing experience. So is feeding
the woolly providers of the milk and
watching the shepherd squish a good
stream of liquid into a waiting
bucket. You can then follow sheep
and shepherd on a walk through
unspoilt countryside and return to a
home-cooked meal prepared by the
shepherd's wife, using the freshest
local ingredients around. That, in a
nutshell, is what agrotourism is all
about - experiencing agricultural
life at first-hand and enjoying it
in the process.
And thanks to the
Ager Foundation of Gozo, you don't
have to board planes, trains or
automobiles to pet farm animals,
harvest grapes or haul in slithering
heaps of fish - you can do all these
things and more on the sister isle
of Gozo. |
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For stressed city-slickers
wanting to step off the treadmill of hurried
everyday life an agrotourism outing is an
ideal outing and one which does much to
preserve the traditions of rural
communities. Agrotourism is an offshoot of
ecotourism, a form of nature travel. It is a
growing niche market in places such as
Tuscany, Abruzzo and Cyprus and is the only
form of tourism which allows sustainable
development of tourist spots. That's because
agro-tourists are encouraged to participate
in the working practices of the locals and
to appreciate the indigenous produce and
traditions of the place they visit. During
their stay they are integrated into the
social fabric of the community and are not
considered to be outsiders disturbing the
environment. In return they inject
sorely-needed funds which help to conserve
the area or to stave off the dying out of
rural traditions.
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That's how it
works in theory. Victor Galea, the
Chairperson and project manager (co-ordinator)
of the Ager Foundation, has made it work in
practice. Galea is an enterprising
nature-lover (Yes, the two can go together).
He is also a Gozitan and passionate about
all things relating to his homeland.
He
managed to combine his passions and set up
the Ager Foundation which manages his Gozo
experience project. This is a multi-faceted
project which includes a variety of one-day
outings during which you will be immersed in
some aspect or other of Gozitan culture.
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For starters, there's
the gastronomy tour where visitors
can taste fare which is unique to
Gozo. They can try "mellusa" - a
curdled milk which is spread like
butter over crusty ftira, and which
is still very popular in a few
villages. Or else they can taste "fdewwex"
- pasta cut in broad ribbon-shaped
slices served in milk. Those persons
who never eat breakfast in the
morning, can make an exception and
taste "ghasida" - a kind of porridge
made of fine Gozo semolina or flour
meal. Then of course there are the
sun-dried tomatoes, dried figs and
wine all of which are made from
home-grown produce and which will
probably soon no longer be
profitable to grow if no longer
consumed in sufficiently large
quantities. Visitors don't just gulp
down the food which is served. They
get to participate and play an
active part in every stage of the
food preparation process, from
picking grapes, gathering and
sprinkling coarse sea salt over
tomatoes to mixing the pasta dough
to be used in typically Gozitan
dishes. All this is accompanied with
the telling of anecdotes and local
lore from the Gozitan hosts who make
the experience so much more pleasant
and authentic.
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Another
programme is that where visitors get to meet
a shepherd and make cheese. This is the one
which we experienced first-hand. Our group
was made up of three adults and two
ankle-biting under-threes. We drove into the
still-sleepy village of Gharb to meet with
Victor Galea of the Ager Foudation. We were
then taken to a farmhouse that estate-agents
would probably give their eye-teeth to buy
and convert. Thankfully it still houses a
flock of sheep and the Gozitan family who
tend them. Karmnu, the shepherd, and his
wife Grezzja are calm and cheerful people,
miles away from the mobile-brandishing,
burn-out wrecks we had left a boat-ride
away. Their daughter Guza, pops over from
her house a few streets away to serve us
breakfast of mildly sweet home-made "qriemec"
biscuits and hot milky coffee.
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Then the fun part of
the day began. After the children
very diffidently threw bales of hay
at the sheep (which look very
different to the spotless flocks of
Christmas card fame) Karmnu lead
them out one by one and milked them.
The bucket of creamy white milk was
entrusted to Grezzja to be converted
into "gbejniet". Sheep's milk has a
higher percentage of fat than goat's
cheese and is therefore more
suitable for the making of these
cheeselets. In order to make the
milk solidify, rennet is added to
the milk. Rennet contains rennin, an
enzyme which curdles the milk, and
is used in cheese-making. It is
extracted from the stomachs of
young, milk-fed animals and in
former times cheese-makers would
salt and dry the inner membrane of a
lamb's stomach to be able to extract
rennet when needed. This practice
has fallen into disuse as it is no
longer commercially viable. Victor
Galea hopes to start it up again.
Grezzja told us about us about this
and showed us how to scoop up the
curdled milk and let it to set in
little forms. While we set out for a
walk into the glorious countryside,
she transformed some cheeselets into
the best ravioli we had ever tasted.
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This was preceded by
a vegetable soup made out of a
melange of vegetables with the
delicious addition of chestnuts and
"favetta". Even the notoriously veg-hating
children were converted. It was an
extremely interesting and enjoyable
experience and one which will have
us looking forward to our next
agrotourism jaunt.
Fishing, farming, honey
extraction, herb picking, bird-watching,
traditional crafts, archeological and
cultural tours are all on the cards. Contact
the Ager Foundation and see how you can get
into the Gozo groove.
For more
information on the various services offered
by Ager Foundation, please browse into the
menu of services and tourists' attractions. |
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